


A Ripple Effect

by Zebra (DQueenie13)



Category: Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones, まおゆう魔王勇者 | Maoyuu Maou Yuusha
Genre: But I already tagged her as Demon Queen on my other Maoyuu fic so, Gen, Technically it should be Demon King
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-02
Updated: 2018-05-21
Packaged: 2019-03-12 19:29:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13554039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DQueenie13/pseuds/Zebra
Summary: Because of a spell gone awry when Lyon is about to create the Dark Stone, he finds himself face-to-face to a red-haired scholar who calls herself the Demon King. Where Lyon sees despair, she sees the possibility for a better tomorrow, a future that has yet to be written. Perhaps, by meeting her, Lyon’s hopeless future won’t be hopeless anymore…(The first chapter is a Preface to explain some background behind this crossover. Actual story starts in the second chapter.)





	1. Preface

Since few people know of _Maoyuu Maou Yuusha_ , one of the sources of this crossover, I’ve decided to explain everything in a preface before I start the story. If you’re not interested in reading the background of the story, just skip to the next chapter.

_Maoyuu_ was originally a light novel series written by Mamare Touno, one of my favorite authors. The story heavily involves politics, economics, society, and warfare in the main characters’ quest to “see what lies beyond the hill”—to see a future nobody’s seen before, one that nobody believes can actually exist.

The main story of FE8 basically kicks off because Lyon sees a vision of the future where Grado is destroyed. One of the main characters of  _ Maoyu _ is a woman who was also capable of seeing the future. However, she uses it very differently from Lyon--she uses it to see future technological and scientific advancements, then brings them into a setting that wouldn’t have otherwise obtained it so quickly (for example, bringing vaccination to a medieval setting).

As it so happens, the characters in  _ Maoyu _ don’t have names. Everyone is referred to by their titles or status. This woman is known as… the Demon King. (Why “King?” To put it in her own words, “It’s a traditional title.”)

So what if  _ Maoyuu _ ’s Demon King was switched with  _ The Sacred Stones _ ’ Demon King?

Lyon sees the future, and he sees despair. The Demon King sees the future, and she sees the possibility for a better tomorrow, a future that has yet to be written. He saw his love for study as a weakness and curses his frail body. She pursued her love for study and saw it as the way to carve a new future, and attains the title of “Demon King” despite having no talent for combat.

Perhaps, by meeting her, Lyon’s hopeless future won’t be hopeless anymore…


	2. The Wrong Demon King

Inside the depths of Grado Keep, a young man stood outside a magic circle. At the center of the circle was a pillar that held Grado’s Sacred Stone, which housed the soul of the Demon King and contained unfathomable magic power.

The man was Prince Lyon, the only remaining progeny of Emperor Vigarde of Grado. The emperor recently died after Lyon foresaw the collapse of the Grado Empire following a devastating earthquake. At a loss, he turned to the power of the Sacred Stone...

“Just a bit more… The rest of the researchers aren’t here, but I shouldn’t need them. All I need to do… is what the vision told me to do. Separate the Demon King’s soul from the stone and extract its power… At the very least, I can do this.”

He closed his eyes, concentrating his magic into his palms as he stretched his arms out toward the stone. Magic filled the air, becoming dense enough to create wind inside this sealed-off room. But then…

A loud sound like an object shattering pierced Lyon’s ears and rang throughout the room.

Lyon’s eyes snapped open in surprise. “What was… Huh?”

Looking at the magic circle, he saw that the Sacred Stone had disappeared. In its place sat a red-haired woman in what looked like a noblewoman’s dress—the colors on the dress were a rich black and red, and it seemed to be a luxurious fabric. There was something odd about her, and her clothing was certainly not in any sort of Gradoan style.

“Wh-who are you?” Lyon felt that this wasn’t the right question to be asking, but he couldn’t think of any better.

The woman blinked. “Where am I?”

Just then, Lyon remembered the more pressing issue. “Wh…Where is the Sacred Stone?!”

“Sacred Stone? What’s that?”

“The Sacred Stone houses the soul of the Demon King! If it’s gone—” He wasn’t sure why he was explaining this, but if he could at least express the gravity of the situation…

A perplexed look crossed her face. “The soul of the… Demon King? But my soul is inside of me, like it should be… At least, I think.”

Lyon, who had been looking all over the room, stopped to look at her. “What?”

“Huh?”

“…You…  _ You’re _ the Demon King of legend? No, no, that can’t possibly be… The Demon King’s body should be sealed in the Dark Temple next to Rausten, far from here…”

The woman pressed her index finger to her lip in thought, then stood up and walked over to him. Without further ado, she reached up and felt his hair.

The sudden contact surprised him. “A-ah!”

Immediately, she retracted her hand. “Oh, I’m sorry. Did I frighten you?”

“I- Er- Don’t you…isn’t it strange to smooth the hair of a complete stranger?”

“I wanted to know if I was in an illusion by the spirits of past Demon Kings, but it doesn’t seem to be the case. Their illusions aren’t tangible, yet you are. At the same time, we seem to understand each other perfectly.”

Ignoring his confused silence, she continued, “Then again, it is rare in ‘portal fantasy’ stories to have language barrier issues. Any that do exist are usually quickly resolved via magic or technological gimmicks. How mysterious.”

“Wait, I…” Lyon tried pulling his thoughts together. “I don’t understand what ‘portal fantasy’ or ‘gimmicks’ are, but… where did you come from?”

She mulled over her answer, pressing a hand to her chin. “I would like to give you a direct answer, but I don’t believe anything I can tell you would be satisfactory. However, I can say this: I’m not from around here.”

It wasn’t anything he hadn’t already figured out, but at the very least, they were confused together. “Er, second question, if I may. What is your name?”

She hesitated for a second, but then shrugged. “Well, I already mentioned it, so I suppose it’s not a secret. I am known as the ‘Demon King.’” There was a moment of awkward silence before she hastily continued, “Oh, you seem to be human. Would you prefer calling me the ‘Crimson Scholar’?”

_ That’s not a name, though! _ , Lyon thought to himself. He decided to try again. “Er… But… What is your  _ given _ name? Surely you were born with another name?”

“A given name?” She seemed confused by the term. “Technically speaking, ‘Demon King’ is a hereditary title. So it’s a name that was given to me. If it’s more satisfactory, my epithet as Demon King is ‘Ruby Eyes’. I’m also called the ‘Crimson Scholar’ among the humans of my world. But before that… it’s been so long that I don’t even remember what I was called before that. Lady of the External Library? Was it that? If Head Maid were here, she would know...”

_ The Demon King’s name should Fomortiis, yet this woman doesn’t seem to even have the concept of a name. I can only sense middle-level magic power from her, either. _

The woman watched Lyon, who was completely engrossed in his thoughts, with curiosity on her face.

_ Her level of magic and magical aura seem are far lower than even the Sacred Stone’s. So she really must not be the same Demon King from legend… But with her appearance, the Sacred Stone completely disappeared. Without its power, I... _

“Ahem.”

“Ah! I-I-I’m sorry… I… I just… I don’t know what to do.”

She smiled, though it didn’t assuage Lyon’s worries at all. “It’s alright. This seems to be a completely unintentional set of circumstances. Though it appears to have been more beneficial for me than it is for you…”

“H-huh?”

“My talent in magic for a Demon King is pitiable, but I have read enough about phenomena where two people switch places in time and space. It seems that whatever ritual you performed has switched your Demon King—or Sacred Stone—with me.”

Fear flashed across Lyon’s face. “No… If that’s true then… The Demon King holds unfathomable and terrifying power. What if he wreaks havoc on your world…?”

“Oh, I’m sure it’s nothing Hero can’t handle on his own,” she remarked, completely brushing his concerns aside.

“Hero?”

_ Is this really how everyone refers to each other in their world? Does nobody have a name? _

“You know how every story has a ‘hero’ and a ‘villain’? I am the ‘villain’ and Hero is, of course, the ‘hero’. Well, it’s a long story, but Hero and I decided to join forces to create a new ending to the story. We have created a contract of mutual ownership… Ahem.”

Lyon didn’t miss the blush on her cheeks, which faded as she composed herself. “Hero is strong. Extremely strong. Right now, he’s been holding himself back to avoid unnecessary deaths, but I’m sure he wouldn’t hold back against a true threat to humanity.”

Unsure of how to respond, Lyon started, “That’s certainly good for you, but…”

His eyes widened as he remembered why exactly he needed the Sacred Stone to begin with. “This… This land will be completely destroyed for it!”

Upon hearing this, her eyes widened in shock. “Completely destroyed? Are you in the midst of war?”

“No, it’s not a war. It’s…”

Lyon hesitated. She was an outsider, and he still didn’t know her origins or her abilities. With such pitiful magic power, there was no way she could carry out his original plan. But what else was there for him to do?

With concern etched on her face, she picked up the conversation. “At the very least, allow me to try and lend some aid. I’ve unintentionally ruined your plans, and until a way to return can be found, I don’t have much to do. My combat ability is weak, but my strength lies in my mind. I am a scholar and an economist. Perhaps I can aid you in ways magic alone cannot.”

“Economist?” She had been throwing many unfamiliar terms at him, but this one stood out to him. If she had called herself a scholar before that, then an “economist” should be something similar… right?

“So this world has not defined this word yet either… Well, what’s important is that an economist never gives up.”

There was another stretch of silence as Lyon considered his options. Not that there were many for him to pick from.

“...Oh, what’s the use in hiding anything? I don’t know how to send you back; the spell required the Sacred Stone’s powers, which I no longer have.”

Lyon sighed. If she was going to help him, or at least try, then she needed to know what was happening. “The truth is, I…we…the court mages and I foresaw the destruction of this country. We don’t know when exactly it will happen, but it will likely be between a year to five years from now. It will be the worst earthquake this country has ever experienced. The land will split apart. Countless people will instantly die. Those who don’t will suffer from starvation and disease.”

Her eyes held an expression of pity. “How terrible… A natural disaster of such scale…”

“Have you ever experienced one?”

“Nothing to the scale you described, but I’ve read about them many times. The world I come from is fraught with starvation and disease, but for a different reason.”

“...And now… My father, the emperor, died. So I’m in charge.” Lyon didn’t know why he was telling a complete stranger all this, but it felt good to get it off his chest. “But I can’t… I can’t do anything. The disaster will strike, and all these people are going to die under  _ my _ reign… And there won’t be anything I can do to stop it...”

“In my world, war has been the solution to famine and disease.”

Lyon involuntarily raised his voice in distress. “I don’t want to—I won’t wage war against anyone! I’m doing this so that people  _ won’t _ die!”

“I don’t like war either. It’s neither my specialty nor my passion. Actually, that was what my agreement with Hero was about.”

“Huh?”

“A way to resolve the food shortage and spread of disease without resorting to endless, mindless wars between humans and demons.”

“Was…that possible?”

“Food, we’ve mostly resolved. We’re currently working on a way to limit the spread of disease…”

She gave a small sigh. “But war is another issue. It’s how nobility keep themselves at the top, after all. Social structures are always the most difficult to change. Humans are greedy like that. No, I should say that it’s the greed of all living beings. The desire to prove their own prosperity and livelihood by assurance of keeping those below them in their place.”

“That’s…!”

_ Wrong? A lie? _

As Lyon thought about it, he realized he couldn’t come up with a retort. He’d seen how members of Grado’s nobility mistreated their serfs. His father had punished many of the cases that were brought before him, but both he and his father understood this didn’t really set an example to the noblemen. Rather, the noblemen just became sneakier and more manipulative to avoid getting caught for their misdeeds.

“Ah, you’re the son of the emperor. Er, well, you’re the emperor now.”

It was the truth of the matter that he had told her himself, but Lyon still felt a pang of unworthiness and self-loathing when she brought that up.

She continued, “Perhaps you’d never seen it that way. I’m sorry if my words were harsh.”

“No. Actually, it’s the opposite. I’m weak. I’d rather stay inside and read books all day than learn combat. I’m so weak, even a woman can beat me.”

“ _ Even _ a woman?”

Remembering that this woman wasn’t Eirika, and he shouldn’t make such comments, he quickly began backtracking. “Er… Sorry if that came out...incorrectly. Here, women aren’t really expected to be fighters. There are exceptions, of course. The pegasus knights in Frelia have to be women by definition, since pegasi will only accept female riders. The land in Jehanna is infertile, and the people there have to become mercenaries to survive.”

“That seems like an awfully inconvenient way to live,” she piped up.

_ Oh… That must be how it seems to someone who doesn’t know this land’s history, huh? _

“It’s not like they settled in a land that was already desolate. The land has slowly died over hundreds and maybe even thousands of years of settlement. The land also holds importance as one of the pillars of this continent ever since the War of the Stones. Jehanna has one of the Sacred Stones that sealed away our Demon King.”

She gave a small nod. “I see…”

“And… I don’t have any hard feelings towards Eirika—my friend who beat me—but it’s still shameful. It’s not like she’s learned how to fight, either. Everything she knows she learned from her brother, Ephraim. I got a couple of swordplay lessons, and Ephraim tried to teach me to use a lance. But lances were just too heavy for me… I’m sure the noblemen think I’m pathetic.”

“......”

“See, my father was an emperor whose accomplishments are second only to our founder, Grado. I don’t think—I can’t possibly take his place. Me, the weak lordling that just sits around wasting time with pages and books...”

“...Is there something wrong with reading?”

A surge of rage at nobody in particular surged up in him. “NO!”

His cheeks flushed when he realized he could hear his voice echoing in the chamber. “...Or, uh, how should I say this? I love it. That’s why I spend so much time with them. But the common people? They want someone who can act. Who knows what to do and how to do it. But I can’t… I’m not that kind of person.”

She gave a nod of sympathy.

“And the nobles want someone strong. Someone that they can look up to as a strong leader, someone powerful who can be a pillar to lean on. Someone that can assure their livelihoods. My father was like that, even if it wore him to the bone. I can’t be like him. Never.”

“That’s true. You aren’t your father… But that lets you do things he never could, right?”

“But what  _ can _ I do, that he couldn’t already do better than me? Father MacGregor—he’s the Archbishop in my country, Grado—said that study is a virtuous thing, and it’s important to understand the past. But when I spend time with the common people, I hear rumors of Ephraim’s exploits. I’ve even heard about tales of how prodigious Prince Innes from the distant country of Frelia is. The people don’t want a king who sits around reading books.”

She paced around the room a little bit as she spoke. “I know that this is a world different than mine, but if you would hear me out, just this once.”

“...Go ahead.” Lyon had already heard many words of shallow comfort, and prepared himself to tune out her hollow lecturing on the goods of studying and knowledge. It wasn’t like any of that helped him save his father like he wanted.

“I’m the Demon King. To humans, I’m the feared ruler of the demons, the one that has caused the deaths of thousands and instigated the fifteen-year-long war. But in reality? I’m just a weak, powerless woman who studies too much.”

Seeing Lyon’s blank expression, she continued, “Don’t look at me like that. It’s true. I’m from the Library Clan, a group of long-lived scholars who live in a place called the Exterior Library. All I did for hundreds of years of my life was read books. History, fantasy, science, mathematics, statistics, warfare, cooking… Anything I could get my hands on, really.

“But it didn’t change the fact that I was weak. The Demons are a group that believes in strength above all. The Demon King is almost always the strongest among all the Demon clans. What chance did I have? So to become one, I overthrew my predecessor.”

“O-overthrew?! But… you said you’re weak?”

“He led a campaign against the humans, but failed, and was weakened. I used that failure to gather support and usurp him. And I made myself the Demon King after that. It was the only way for me to become one.”

Lyon knew all too well that his expression had crinkled. “How cowardly…”

“Yes, it was a cowardly move,” she agreed. “Many of the Demon Clans still do not fully recognize my authority, because I’m weak. Just like you. In fact, probably even more so than you. You’re an expert in magecraft—I can sense it. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that you could probably best me in a duel.”

“But you still became the Demon King…”

“I had to, so I could meet Hero. I read all the stories of the rise and downfalls of demon kings and human kings. But there was a history I couldn’t yet find in our records. One where it doesn’t end with the death of the Demon King and Hero. One where we rose above that destiny and saw a new ending to the tale. And for to make my dream come true, I had to become the Demon King who would usher in a new era with the Hero.”

“...So? What does this have to do with me?”

“I used the knowledge I gained to understand why history kept repeating itself. I found ways to cut off the sources of war at its root—many of them the same issues you foresee in your future. If I didn’t have that knowledge, I wouldn’t have been able to make a change.”

Lyon let her words sink in. “...You’re saying that… What I’ve done isn’t a waste?”

She smiled, seeing that he was starting to understand her point. “Not at all. And besides, physical strength without wisdom is just all muscle in the end. A king’s strength can lead his people to victory in war. But without an understanding of strategy or tactics, he can charge too deep into enemy territory and get cut off. Without supplies or the ability to break through, he will die along with all his men.”

Admittedly, Lyon hadn’t read too much on the art of warfare because he disliked it enough to avoid the books about them, but what she said made sense.

“Even worse, a true coward will send men to fight for him without thinking over the consequences or any strategy. Once tragedy befalls, he will run and hide so he can leave the responsibility to someone else. I know a king like that.”

Lyon chewed his lip. “...Right now, I… I feel like that king.”

“There’s nothing wrong in that.”

He looked at her in confusion. “But you just said…”

“From what I understand, you wanted to do something about the vision you saw. You didn’t know how, but you wanted to prevent that vision from becoming reality.”

“Yes.”

“You might have wanted to run away from it deep down, but you still tried to take a step forward. Isn’t that already commendable?”

He gave a hesitant “Yes” again. His expression had a tinge of guilt in it, but because she didn’t fully know his circumstances, she chose to disregard it at the moment.

“You said that you saw a massive earthquake in your future?”

“Uh-huh.”

“And because of it, disease and famine will skyrocket?”

“Sky...rock...it?”

_ Right. He wouldn’t understand what that means, would he? _

She scrambled for a better description. “Ah, um, what I mean is... Erm… There will be a dramatic increase in disease and famine, right?”

“Oh, yes. I don’t know what I can do about it after it strikes…”

“Hm. From what I see…”

The two stood in silence for a bit. The Demon King seemed to be lost in thought, so Lyon simply glanced at her quizzically from time to time, but kept his eyes averted. It didn’t help that her dress had an extremely low cut to expose a fair amount of cleavage, making it a bit difficult for him to look at her without making it seem like he was ogling her. So instead, he focused his attention on the stone wall, trying to pull his thoughts together but failing.

Her “Mmh” brought him out of his thoughts. She started, “I simply do not understand enough about your world to form any definite plans on how to proceed.”

“ _ However! _ ” She suddenly jabbed a finger at his direction, causing him to jump a bit in surprise. “I have an idea on what needs to be done before this disaster strikes to minimize the damage.”

“Minimize…?”

“Just as one would design a fortress to hold out a siege and make it difficult for the attackers to invade, if you know a terrible disaster is going to strike, you should plan accordingly, right?”

“But…people are still going to die, won’t they?”

“Does that mean nobody in your country is dying now?”

He clammed up, and the Demon King chided herself in her mind.

_ Was I too harsh? I compared him to the Lone Winter King and treated him like they were the same. Both have tremendous potential to rise up as one of the greatest leaders of their age, and lost their fathers at a young age. But for humans, this is also a critical age where one would either rise up, or crash to their doom. I might be pressuring him too much… _

“I’m terribly sorry if I’m not in my place. But because you had plans that I inadvertently ruined, I only wish to help.”

Because she was new to this world, she hadn’t said anything, but she could see that the young emperor before her had his eyes fixed on a specific goal. She wasn’t precisely sure what it was, but she felt that he was focusing on the wrong thing. There was something in her that told her she needed to help him find what was beyond his hill.

“...No, it’s fine. I just… hadn’t thought of it like that. Dying is a natural process… That’s what Father MacGregor told me. I thought it was just a hollow attempt at easing my mind off my father’s death. But it’s true, isn’t it? Every day, there’s someone in this kingdom that’s dying.”

“Dying is a natural thing, yes. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do anything about it.”

“What...do you mean?”

“Well, if the country’s situation can get worse, then that surely means it has the potential to become better as well, right?”

“It doesn’t sound wrong…”

“The best way to prepare for an impending disaster would be to improve conditions before they can get worse.”

“Wouldn’t all of our efforts get destroyed?”

“People need to improve to the point where they can also be less dependent on outside help. Of course, I will also need details on the vision you saw. The areas worst affected, the most widespread diseases, the most effective methods of spreading relief…”

Lyon shook his head in wonder. “...Amazing…”

“Eh?”

“We’ve met for barely half an hour, yet you’re already coming up with a way to save this land…”

“Don’t feel so downhearted. You’re still young. Despite my looks, I’m a demon who has lived for hundreds of years. Besides, what I’ve said so far is just an adaptation of the plan I started enacting in my own world. I’ve spent those hundreds of years coming up with it. It’s not like I instantly came up with this solution.”

He didn’t seem convinced.

“Also, this kind of plan has the best long-term goals, but it’s prone to many setbacks along the way. Naturally, the biggest issue we will face is from the people.”

He was still silent, but it was a pondering silence, which was better than a silence of neutrality.

“I do not know the state of education in this country, but where I am from, the common people tend to have little education. This means that they don’t know much about the land or how it truly works outside of folktales passed down from generation to generation. The nobility also dislike anything that gives more power and authority to the common people, because it’s a threat to their position. They wouldn’t approve of giving them more education.”

“Yes, that’s what I’m afraid of… There’s also the fact that for many commoners, anyone who can work, needs to so they can survive.”

“Hmm… So we would have to visit some remote villages to gain an understanding of what needs to improved there.”

“Actually… I know that two of the Imperial Three were commoners before my father recruited them into the army.”

“Imperial Three?”

“Ah, sorry. You wouldn’t know what that means. The Imperial Three are the three best generals in Grado’s Imperial Army.”

“How interesting… So they don’t need to be nobility to earn higher positions in the army?”

“It’s been a tradition for a few generations. Grado is an enormous country, and so different regions are controlled by territorial lords who then serve the emperor. To ensure their power, emperors in the past have granted promotions to those that prove to be genuinely loyal to the throne. A number of times, that has seen the rise of common soldiers to the highest positions in the army.”

“It’s certainly an effective method. Yet the nobility do not have issue with it?”

“To quell any complaints, each general that is promoted has to undergo a rigorous qualification test. The test is a month long, and has to prove the general’s physical ability, mental vigor, and spiritual clarity.”

“A month long… I feel bad for them.”

Lyon gave a small laugh. “For most of the commoners that have to go through it, most of it is probably easy. The test was designed by noblemen who have no idea what it’s like to be poor. At least, that’s what General Glen told me once. He also said—”

Just then, the door opened. A man in dark purple mage’s robes and light purple hair almost the same color as Lyon’s entered. Seeing the stranger speaking casually to Prince Lyon in the Sacred Stone’s sealed chamber, he has a double-take.

“Ah...ahaha…” Lyon laughed again, though out of nervousness this time. “You’re one of the mages that worked with me, right? Knoll, wasn’t it?”

The man looked back and forth between Lyon and the strange woman. “Er… Yes, Your Highness. But... who is this woman…? And where is the Sacred Stone?!”

“Please, lower your voice! I will… Allow me to explain the situation. But please, close the door behind you.”

Knoll glanced behind him before stepping into the room and hesitantly closing the door behind him. Another moment of awkward silence passes.

“Um, how should I explain this…”

The Demon King took a step forward. “Should I introduce myself first?”

“That… might be a bit complicated,” Lyon answered with a shake of his head.

“Oh, that’s true.”

“Prince Lyon, just what in the world is going on? The Sacred Stone is missing, and instead I find this...woman here?”

Lyon heaved a sigh. “Knoll, please don’t get angry with what I’m about to tell you.”

Another tense moment passed before Knoll finally replied, “I am your servant, Your Highness. I have stood by your side for the past several years, and I will continue to stand by your side. No matter what you tell me.”

“Thank you, Knoll. I think I should start by explaining the circumstances behind her appearance…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I first wrote this chapter, it was all dialogue in a script format since that's how _Maoyuu_ was written. I decided to change it back to regular prose, but it remained very dialogue-heavy. I'll try making it more spread out in the next chapter, whenever it comes out.
> 
> This fic is really just an excuse to tackle FE8's storytelling from a more political and economic perspective.


	3. Cover Up

It took a bit of time to explain to Knoll what had transpired, but to Lyon’s relief, Knoll accepted the explanation. After hearing the full story, Knoll summarized the situation at hand.

“So the time shear spell went awry, and it somehow switched the space between the Sacred Stone, housing the Demon King’s soul, with… this other ‘Demon King’.”

“That is our hypothesis, at least,” she affirmed. “The explanation will have to do for now.”

“How can we possibly explain this to anyone else?” Lyon continued, his panic rising in his voice. “The people cannot know that the Sacred Stone has disappeared. And as for father…”

“We will have to report his passing.”

The Demon King tilted her head in confusion. “Report? Isn’t Lyon—er, Emperor Lyon—”

“Just… just Lyon is fine.”

“Lyon it is, then. Are you not already the emperor? Why must his father’s passing be announced again?”

An awkward silence fell over the room. She looked between the two men; Lyon averted his eyes and shifted awkwardly, while Knoll first glanced at Lyon and then looked the other way when he saw that Lyon did not wish to speak.

Hoping to break the silence, the Demon King spoke again. “Is the passing of royalty not announced in this land? Please excuse my ignorance. Our cultures seem to be quite different.”

“No… That’s not it. I, uh…” Lyon took a deep breath. “There were some… _complications_ , and we couldn’t yet announce his death, so uh… we should… do that straight away…”

Knoll gave a stiff nod. It was obvious that there was more to the story than they were willing to admit to her, but the Demon King decided it wasn’t her place to pry.

“Your Highness, as for Miss… uh… Demon King. Naturally, we can’t leave her to stay in here until we figure out how to undo the time shear spell. But we also can’t let her go in public as… she is.”

She looked down at herself. “Is my attire inappropriate? If I have the opportunity, may I have something that’s… er… less exposed up here?” She pointed at her large bosom. “This dress is my maid’s choosing. Normally, I would wear something more comfortable, but she claimed I had to wear something that ‘would assert my authority,’ and forced this on me.”

Lyon wasn’t sure how exposing cleavage equated to asserting authority, but he had far better things to question. “I, uh, that… that shouldn’t be a problem. Your dress can be explained by foreign origins, and we can certainly give you new clothes. We just need a way to… explain _you_.”

“Explain me?”

Knoll spoke up. “A mysterious foreign woman who consorts with the royal prince… Rumors and suspicions are bound to fly. Especially if it coincides with the announcement of Emperor Vigarde’s death...”

“Ah, right.” She placed a hand to her chin in thought.

“We need a cover story for why you are here,” he began.

“Maybe she was shipwrecked near the royal port, and she was nursed back to health in the palace?”

Knoll shook his head. “If that happened, surely Father MacGregor or another healer would have known about her. The royal port is also always under guard, so it would be suspicious if she was supposedly shipwrecked yet nobody knew about it.”

The Demon King traced her fingers over the stone wall. “I hadn’t thought to ask this before, but where _exactly_ am I? The lack of windows suggests that I am underground, but there are two treasure chests here and I found myself on a stone pillar earlier. Clearly, this isn’t a dungeon.”

“This is a chamber in the basement of Grado Keep,” Lyon began. “This is the heart of Grado’s capital, where the royal family and several of the key leaders of the Grado Empire reside. Because of this, it is heavily fortified, and visitors need to go through several inspections and passes.”

“And thus, any sort of excuse that you coincidentally slipped through all that will be exposed immediately.”

“I see…” Pressing a hand to her chin, the Demon King continued, “Perhaps I should take the responsibility for this situation?”

“Huh?”

“Let’s say that I was experimenting with a long-distance teleportation spell and accidentally found my way here, but lost the means to make my way back. This happened right around the time of the late emperor’s death, so I was taken into custody for interrogation.”

“I see… We’ll say that you were taken for interrogation to clear any suspicion of your involvement in my father’s passing, and that’s why neither your presence nor my father’s death were made known.”

Knoll gave a slow nod. “It’s not a _lie_ , at least.”

“It’s undeniable that it’s slightly deceptive, though,” she acknowledged. “It’s unfortunate, but nothing in this world, or any world, can be completely clean.”

Lyon bit his lip. Her words were true; they were just hard for him to swallow.

Sensing his liege’s discomfort, Knoll pushed forward. “We also must give you a new name.”

“A new name?”

He sighed, unsure how to explain the concept of proper names. It was so ingrained into Magvel’s culture, into its very existence, that it was unfathomable a world existed—let alone _meeting_ a denizen of such a world—where such a concept was completely foreign to them.

“So you said the humans of your world would panic if you were referred to as the ‘Demon King,’ yes?”

“That’s right. After all, demons are considered the enemies of humanity; the reverse is true for us demons, of course.”

“The same is true for our world. However, the way that we refer to each other is also different.”

“Are you speaking about things like ‘Lyon’ and ‘Knoll’ and ‘Father MacGregor’?”

“Yes, exactly that.”

Lyon piped up to aid Knoll. “Earlier, you mentioned a person named ‘Hero,’ right? That’s his title, isn’t it? Or rather, I should say that he’s called that because being the ‘hero’ is a defining trait of his, right?”

“Correct! He’s the ‘hero’ of the human world and has incredible magic only he can wield, since he’s the hero.”

“Here, in our world, we are given the name that we will be called by when we are born. Our titles may change—for example, from ‘Prince’ to ‘King’ or ‘Emperor’, but our names stay the same. Usually. People _can_ change their names or go by an alias to hide their identities, but that’s not important at the moment.”

“Ah, like how I used ‘Crimson Scholar’ as my disguise in the human world.”

Knoll nodded. “Because ‘names’ are such a large part of our culture, it will be extremely odd if you don’t have one. We’ll need to come up with a name for you that not only sounds natural to people of this world, but is also something you’ll know refers to you. After all, if someone calls you by your new alias, but you forget that alias is for you, our entire story will instantly come under suspicion.”

“I understand,” she replied. “If it helps, I’ve been known as the ‘Demon King,’ ‘Ruby Eyes,’ and ‘Crimson Scholar’ in my world.”

“Ruby Eyes… If we shortened that to ‘Ruby,’ would you remember that as your new alias?”

“Ruby… Ruby… It feels a bit, how should I say this, empty? But I think I can remember it! Ruby… It _does_ have a nice ring to it on its own…”

The smile she flashed as she chanted the name to herself was so giddy and innocent, Lyon could hardly believe that she had once ousted her predecessor Demon King to take the title for herself.

There was a slight cough to his left. “Prince Lyon.”

“Knoll?”

“We have a cover story, and she seems to be acclimating to her new name quite well, but… What shall we do about Father MacGregor and the Imperial Three? Among Emperor Vigarde’s inner circle, they were the closest to him… They are the most important to convince, and the most difficult.”

Lyon pressed a finger to his temple. If he’d known this would land him into such a mess, he’d never had experimented with the Sacred Stone. “Father MacGregor probably takes priority. He’s the religious leader of Grado, after all, and exercises power over all the Sacred Orders in the country. Between him and the Imperial Three, he has the largest influence over the people.”

“General Duessel and his family have been loyal to the throne for generations. He will likely continue to serve you even with your father’s passing. Generals Selena and Glen, however… They had personal loyalties to your father. How they will react is uncertain…”

“At worst, they could lead a coup. However, they have little reason to do so unless I went out of my way to anger them.”

“More importantly, they maintained order throughout the empire and enforced your father’s policies,” Knoll reminded him.

 

* * *

 

The Grado Empire took up nearly half the Magvel continent. In order to facilitate its operation, it was divided into six territories, each run by a territory lord. Even within the major territories, they further divided among numerous lords under the territory lord’s jurisdiction. With such a sprawling bureaucratic network, it was easy for lower lords to get away with abuse of power. It was among the Imperial Three’s duties to make rounds through the country to ensure such injustices did not go unpunished, and to report their findings to the emperor.

This also meant, however, that if the Imperial Three did not approve of an emperor’s policies, they could simply choose not to enforce them. After all, the emperor wouldn’t know unless he went and toured the country for himself. Lyon was not so naïve to believe that such a situation had never occurred in Grado’s history. Though many nobles considered the Imperial Three as mere “elevated soldiers” (largely out of contempt that the three refused to serve anyone other than Vigarde), Lyon was well aware that they were necessary for maintaining an emperor’s power. Without their support, Lyon was little more than a barking dog on a tight leash; he could say whatever he wanted, but little would come of it.

 

* * *

 

Lyon spoke slowly, turning through countless possible scenarios in his head. “As long as we don’t do anything to rouse their distrust, I think they would continue to follow my lead. I am my father’s only surviving progeny, after all. Even if they think I am unworthy of the throne, they wouldn’t attempt to overthrow me out of respect towards my father, who has made it clear that his wish is for me to ascend the throne. At least, that’s what I think.”

“Of course, this means that they can’t find out about the true nature of the Demon—er, Ruby’s—appearance.”

Lyon clenched his jaw. _This was such a miscalculation! If only I hadn’t landed myself in this mess…_

“That’s why our cover story needs to be as close to the truth as possible,” the woman interrupted. “It makes the story much easier and convincing to tell.”

“Y-you…were listening in?”

“Hm? Of course! I need to be in the know in order to play my role properly. I told you, didn’t I? I’m partially responsible for ruining your original plan, so I’ll do my best to find a solution for your problem.”

 _Honestly, it’s probably for the best that you ruined Prince Lyon’s plan…_ It was too early to tell for sure, but something in Knoll’s gut told him this Demon King switch-up was the best possible result from Lyon’s experimentation on the Sacred Stone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Starting with the next chapter, I'll mostly be referring to Maoyuu's Demon King as "Ruby." Writing "the Demon King" to refer to her gets tiresome after a while.


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